Colonies 4.2 SP (by John Ellis)
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A scenario for Civilization II MGE (by Sid Meier and Brian Reynolds) set between 1630 and 1780 in Europe and North America. It requires Civilization II MGE (Ultimate Civ) edition. These notes are for the 4.2 version, SinglePlayer Edition.

This version has made only minor changes from version 4.x, but some of these have had quite far-reaching consequences. These are listed below for ease of reference for those already familiar with an earlier version:

1) The "AI values" of the techs have been extensively revised to encourage the computer to aim for some of the key military techs in the game, such as Flintlock and State Commission Army, that previously it was ignoring. This has made the computer a much harder opponent.

2) Some of the tech tree has been re-drawn, making Diplomatic Policy and Suburban Building appear later in the game, and making Colonial Tariffs and Policy more important.

3) The Nations' starting techs have been adjusted so that Town Charters (allowing a city to grow over 4 in size) is not available until late in the Seventeenth Century. This has the effect of limiting Colony size more realistically (most European Towns and Cities already have a Town Charter in place).

4) Several unit values and costs have been marginally adjusted, as a result of extensive playtesting, for better game balance and a better historical "feel" to battles.

5) The Independent Island of Madeira (hosting the town of Funchal) has been made a larger, and more productive place, with a thriving Sugar Plantation, as it was in reality.

Player's Notes
==============

Introduction and Credits:
-------------------------

Colonies IV has been in development for a very long time (since June 2002 at least) and has been contributed to and playtested by many of my friends and colleagues in the Civilization "community". They must take much of the credit for what has been the most collaborative of my scenarios, but any errors, inaccuracies or just plain bad design is still down to me. My name is on the thing, after all!

Where possible, I have included in brackets peoples' identities on the CFC forums.

For contributions to the game mechanics, I would like to thank Chris (AoA), Henrik (Henrik), Javier (Yaroslav) and Steve (conmcb25).

For contributions to the graphics, I would particularly like to thank Arne (Arne) and Henrik (Henrik) for their active help, and also many other designers whose existing work I have borrowed or modified. Alex Mor, Morten Blabjerg and (St.Leo) are numbered amongst these.

In addition to those mentioned above, Heiko (Yop73), (Darius) and Pieter (DuckOfFlanders) have helped a lot with the - hopefully fun - playtesting, and essential - but no doubt less fun - feedback.

Finally, as special mention is due to my girlfriend Sue, without whose tolerance none of this would have been possible. Mind you, in order to get her full co-operation, I have had to agree to marry her! I hope you all appreciate the price I have paid! ;-)

The scenario is a spiritual descendant of my Colonies series, particularly Colonies III. My main intention when I started to develop it was just to make a "better" Colonies III on a gigamap. However, lots of things started to change and it's become quite a bit different. If you want an account of what I did, and why, please read the accompanying Designer's Notes.

Outline of the game
===================

In Single-Player mode (the version of the scenario accompanying these notes), with the player against the computer, the object of the game is to make your nation as powerful as possible and to build as many of the Wonders as you can. Whether you try to expand in Europe (by conquest) or in the Americas and Africa (by colonisation AND conquest) is up to you, but  I know which is more fun! There are no set targets or victory points, and you can play at whatever level of difficulty suits you (although the game is optimised for Viceroy Level (Level #5)).

There is a Multi-Player version of the game available, suitable for PBEMs or online play. Although for online play with a gigamap you'd better have faster access than dial-up! The MP version has some significantly different rules, and a differently-balanced events file.

All nations are playable in theory, although the Hapsburg Empire has significantly fewer options, having no starting ports, ships or colonists. The Independents have all of these, but should not be played except for fun, as they are too strong compared to the others. This makes them a reasonable opponent when played by the computer, however.

How to play the game
====================

OK, anyone who has played Civ II a lot should have no trouble picking it up eventually, but several points confused even my vastly-experienced playtesters, so a few pointers might be worthwhile:

1) You can't build Colonists (a settler-type unit) at all. They are raised automatically by events, at different locations and at different frequencies, depending on your nation.

2) You can't build Farmers (another Settler-type unit) until quite late in the game, and only if you research a specific tech (Land Reform). Depending on your nation, you get a few more via events and everyone starts off with one or two, in order to permit some very limited land improvement.

3) You can't build Slaves (an Engineer-type unit) at all. You CAN get them though, by defeating some of the Native units in the game. Some Natives produce Slaves for some nations, and not for others, and depending on the type of Native you defeat, the Slaves might be produced in Mexico, the Carribean or Africa. The Dutch can even get some in Amsterdam. I'll leave you to work out which gives you what, where. This works in very much the same way as for Colonies III, but here it is the Slaves who can "transform" terrain, not Farmers. Jungle and Swamps can be transformed into the very lucrative Plantation terrain, and Forests can be transformed to Grasslands. Use the "O" terraform command when you have placed your Slave unit where you want to terraform. More notes on terrain types are below, and are also available from the in-game help.

4) The scenario starts off with most of the maximum number of 255 cities already founded. You ought to be OK for the first few turns/years, but soon you will get the "Too many cities!" message when you try to found more. The way around this is to destroy the Native cities, and then found your own on the same turn. If you leave it longer, another player will probably have stepped in already, even if computer-controlled. Most of the Native cities cannot be taken, but they can be eliminated. This simulates the Colonists' need/desire to oust the Natives from around their new colony sites. The Native settlements in North America, particularly, are no pushovers. You will probably need several high-value attackers to wipe a tribe out (or Heavy Artillery).

5) Trade. At the beginning of the game, no one can build trade units, although some exist already. There are three types of trade unit:

     i) Commodities. These are pre-placed, mostly Spanish, and of various different high-value types. 

    ii) Company Traders. These require the West India Company tech, which you will be well into the game before you develop.

   iii) Furs & Pelts. These (apart from one or two at the start) are created by events if you use a Hunter to trap (kill) a native Beaver unit. Only the English, Swedish and French have a Hunter (the French have 2), so only they can trap Beaver. The Spanish have their starting Commodities, and the Dutch are wealthy enough anyway. The Hunter unit is very easy for the Natives to kill, but it will be recreated if killed, near the coast. If you lose a Hunter travelling on a ship, if that ship sinks for any reason, the unit is lost forever, so be careful! For the three countries that can use them, Furs & Pelts are crucial to the economy in the early stages and are always useful science boosters. The Furs & Pelts units are created with a home city of NONE, so rehome them in a colonial settlement and ship them to Europe for best effect. They could of course be rehomed ANYWHERE, including Europe. 

A note on ships. All ships in this scenario have the Trireme flag, and therefore might be lost if they end their move off the coastline. Of course, it is possible to cheat by moving a ship its entire move -1, then ending your turn. But if you're going to cheat, it's easier to remove the Trireme flag in the rules.txt file, and a lot less fiddle!

The base chance of such a sinking is 1:15, although it often seems like more. On average, I reckon to lose about 1 ship in 4 that makes the Atlantic crossing in the early days at these odds. If you discover Improved Hulls, and later on Advanced Naval Architecture, the odds are significantly reduced. I'm not sure how much by, but it feels like the chances of sinking are halved for each tech in my playtesting (ie 1:30, then 1:60).

It certainly makes for some nail-biting voyages with precious units or vital cargos! As in reality, landfall will be a major relief for your mariners - but favourite landfalls are where the Pirates and enemy navies tend to congregate as well.


Main game principles
====================

One thing you will soon notice is, that apart from the Dutch Republic, all nations are running a severe budget deficit. Those who have played some of my previous scenarios will not be too surprised at that (;-)) but in Colonies IV it might seem these are unplayably huge. I assure you, they have been extensively playtested and achieve just the effect I am looking for. One of the challenges of the Game is find ways of staying afloat financially. One hint: the Crown Lands located in several major cities can be sold off for 300 gold, for a one time cash boost. You can wait until you really need to, as they cost nothing to maintain, and perform no other function. For the expert player, try to play the game without selling any!

There is more information on the section below about Governments, but the challenge I am trying to put to the player is "how to survive financially without giving up war-making power to Parliament" (ie shifting to a Parliament- or "Senate-" dominated government). This is a dilemma that every Absolute or near-Absolute ruler in Europe had to face in this period. Indeed, many couldn't conceive of any way of ruling except absolutely, and the initial emphasis in the scientific aspect of the game is to evolve institutions and systems for ensuring a steady and viable income for the state.

Government form is crucial to how you play the game.

As far as colonies are concerned, it is quite a large effort to found and support them, and initially they don't return much to the home nation. However, as exporters of Furs, and later as Plantation sites, they can become extremely profitable. This mirrors the development of colonies in actuality.

A quick note on techs: the ones marked with an asterisk(*) are unresearchable techs, either given to some nations at the start or given by events to some or all nations. They are not tradable, quite deliberately. As mentioned in the section on Governments, some are given to free up a certain path for development. One exception is 18th Century, which is given to all nations in 1700 to allow some later tech to be developed that I don't want happening too early.


National characteristics
========================

As touched on above, the different nations have some different strengths and weaknesses:

The Spanish:
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The Spanish are the dominant military and naval power as the scenario opens, with an especially tough and expert army. However, their dominance is being challenged by the rising powers of France and Holland. They have a large empire, but it is not well defended and it is more of a drain on the State Treasury than an economic asset at this stage. Scientific progress is moderate, but the gold and silver of the New World can benefit the nation hugely if they can be safely shipped to Europe.

They have a relatively unfertile homeland, but are beginning to open up Mexico and they get a reasonable amount of new colonists and farmers there. The local populations could provide additional cheap labour!

The Holy Inquistion strengthens the power of the Catholic Church considerably.....

The French:
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The French are very much the coming power in Europe. Their army is good, especially in cavalry, and their science and industry are healthy and growing fast. They have a twice the number of fur trappers of the Swedes or English and additionally are nearer to the best and most persistent concentrations of Beaver. This is especially important after 1650 or so, when the Beaver start to get hunted out.

France is fertile and centrally-placed. Its central placing means that it is almost impossible to avoid European wars, however. A significant number of French citizens are emmigrating to the New World to start a new life...

The Edict of Nantes, granting religious tolerance to the Protestant (Huguenot) minority in France, is a powerful force for stability. However, who knows how long the ruling Catholics will stay tolerant, as the Counter-Reformation sweeps Europe?

The Dutch:
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The Dutch have a splendid government for encouraging trade and economic growth. They are easily the richest nation and also the most scientific, even given their small size. Their city fortifications and network of canals make their homeland hard to conquer, particularly from the south.

However, they are limited in their small, defensible pocket. European conquest is unlikely, particularly with a Republican government. Africa and New Holland offer better opportunities, although the small population produces few Colonists. 

The expert Dutch Shipbuilders and enthusiasm of the Dutch for an Imperialist policy definitely assist an expansionist Staatholder though....

The English:
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Although in 1630 the English Monarch was also King of Scotland, the two countries were fiercely independent and resisted amalgamation. Scotland is therefore an Independent Nation. Ireland had been extensively colonised in Tudor times, but the Irish were always struggling for their freedom and the writ of England hardly ran beyond the Pale of Dublin. Making Ireland Native, and Scotland Independent also improves game balance.

Successive waves of religious persecution, alternatively targeting Catholics, Anglicans, Dissenters, Quakers and Lollards at least generate huge amounts of Colonists wanting to enjoy freedon of conscience! Also, many settlers emmigrate to Ireland for religious and economic reasons...

England is therefore a poor and disunited country, saddled with an erratic and poorly funded system of government, with only the unwritten constitution of the King in Parliament preventing outright rebellion and fragmentation.

Great things may be possible in future however, if this struggling nation can survive and unite....Its island position is a great advantage.

The Swedish:
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Bursting on the scene in the 1630's, the great Gustavus Adolphus (in Swedish, Gustav II Adolph) revolutionised warfare. As a general, Gustav was famous for employing mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as a very active tactical doctrine where attack was stressed over defence and mobility was more important than linear defence. A limited amount of starting Galloper guns have therefore been given to the Swedes, along with a special unit to represent their aggressive use of cavalry.

The Swedes had been stocking up a huge warchest for their campaign, but it will soon be depleted. They have only a few colonists, in the Delaware area that was the historical scene of most Swedish colonisation.

The Swedish Military System that so revolutionised warfare in Europe gives the Swedes a big advantage - until further advances in technology change the balance again....

The Hapsburgs:
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Without ships, ports or colonists, the Hapsburgs are not really meant for human play in this scenario. However, they are playable, and can expand through conquest. Another tactic is to deliberately lose a city! The refugees that result, if protected properly, could form the basis of new colonies or help work the land. An interesting challenge one day, perhaps?

The Independents:
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Representing Scotland, Portugal (independent from Spain for much the same reasons that I made Scotland independent from England), Denmark & Norway, Savoy, the Papal States, Milan, the Venitian Republic, the Swiss Cantons and various "Imperial Free Cities", the Independents are not really intended for play either. The reason here though, is that they are really too strong if played by a human. They make a serious AI opponent, though.


Governments:
============

Government techs are a mix of the given, the researchable/tradable, and the events-driven.

Monarchy = Classic Civ Despotism. The Default government type. Everyone can use it of course. A trick I found while developing this game that I and many of my playtesters didn't know: if you manage to generate a "We love the King" day under this type of government, it boosts your food production greatly. You will probably need to dedicate a few pretty young lady "entertainers" to make this happen...;-)

Constitutional Monarchy = Classic Civ Monarchy. Everyone can research/trade it, no-one has it to start. It will boost your income slightly, your food massively, and will be a mixed blessing on shields: you will have to pay support for EVERY unit, but lose less to corruption. It will also help somewhat on science. Needed for Excise duties, on which all State funding (and later economic city improvements) was initially based...

Parliamentary Monarchy = Classic Civ Republic. The English can research it IF they get the Radicalism event, which they get on a random 1:150 chance OR if they trade for Absolutism. The Dutch can get Radicalism IF they trade for Absolutism ONLY, and the French get Radicalism on a 1:200 chance via events ONLY. It is tradeable once discovered. Great for Trade & Tech, it limits your warmongering to some extent. Radicalism is a destabilising event that can cause great unrest all over Europe...

Absolute Monarchy = Classic Civ Communism. Only the French can research it, when they get the Great Statesman Dies event (1:50). Others can only trade for it once the French have it. If the Dutch get it by trade, they get Radicalism, which allows them to research Parliamentary Monarchy. You now get 1 free unit support, as otherwise it was no better than Constitutional Monarchy really, except it had better crowd control and a slighly flatter corruption model. Nice Happy Wonder available, which can be significant. The Hapsburgs are in that Government to start, but do not have the tech, so cannot trade it to others. The AI soon abandons Empire, not having the underlying tech.

Republic = Classic Civ Democracy. Only Dutch have it, and cannot trade it. I don't think it's too unbalancing, and Dutch can always go to a Constit. Monarchy if they want to. The Dutch have cheap Police Stations (Militia Ordanance) and Dutch Imperialism, so it ought not to limit their troop deployment options too much - if you can keep the States-General from declaring peace for you!

Revolutionary Govt. = Classic Civ Fundamentalism. Only the French can research it IF they get the Radicalism event (and have developed Rights of Man from it) and already have Absolutism. It could then be traded. However, the French cannot research it until they get the 18th Century event as well, and they cannot get the Citizen-Soldier until they also have State Commission Army.

By the way, the names of the "Kings" are actually those of the powers behind the throne - Councils and Offices that continue in existence from one ruler to another. This may give a few slightly strange messages when you switch Governments, but I prefer it to a single ruler living for 150 years!

Terrain:
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The in-game help works pretty well to give you most of the info you need. However, please note that units in Jungle have only a 50% defence strength. This simulates the ambush potential of this terrain,  and is not noted in the Civilopedia. Other terrains ARE accurately described.

Note that you cannot build Clssic Civ "Fortresses", to enable many of your units to stack together in the same square without risking them all to one unlucky battle. This is to give the computer a fair chance to defend its cities as otherwise it is much to easy for the skilled player. Such fortresses are buildable in the MultiPlayer version of this scenario, as otherwise the human has it too easy defending his cities.

The units' move values are also misdescribed, by the way. Generally, 17th Century infantry moves 1, 17th century cavalry moves 3, 18th Century infantry moves 2, 18th century cavalry moves 4, amd artillery moves 1 always (except Galloper Guns, which move 2).

Ships mostly move in the range 12-28, except Galleys, which only move 6. The special "air" units (Privateersmen and Town Militia) only have a range of one, so should never move off their city or transporting ship, except to attack.  

Happiness:
==========

The default level for this game is #5 (Classic Emperor, Viceroy in the scenario).  I have pitched unhappiness at level #5 to be just about manageable, with the starting wonders and improvements. As you grow, unrest becomes a problem, which is what I want, as rulers of this period were usually more exercised keeping their own populations subject, than with foreign takeover. 
There are remedies to this such as stationing more troops in garrisons or increasing luxuries. The former only works to an extent (more for Absolutists, which makes that system more attractive) and luxuries mean less money or tech. As money is tight, this can often slow down tech a bit, which is also what I want. 

Given that countries in this period were either Catholic OR Protestant, but not officially both, I don't want both sorts of Churches to be available to both religions. Counter-Reformation, Calvinism and Lutherianism modify the effects of these Churches and also Cathedrals, representing most strands of Christianity in the period. However, both sorts of churches can be quickly built, and cost nothing to maintain. Cathedrals also cost nothing to maintain (they are funded by the tithes of the Church itself) but are a huge project to build. The Independents, only, can build both types of Church as they represent such a wide variety of Nations.

This also makes the obsolesence of Happy Wonders genuinely destabilising events, and the arrival of new Happy Wonders (such as Court Ritual), major advantages - particularly if luxuries are minimised.

It also makes level #6 (Deity) a genuine challenge! However, as I have done SP and MP versions of the rules, starting unhappiness will be greater in MP, as play will usually be at level #4.

If you want to read why I made the choices I did, and hear about the trials and tribulations of a scenario developer's life, read the accompanying Designer's Notes.

That's enough for now - time to get playing!

John Ellis (Patient English)
May 2003, Somerset, England.
Version 4.2 developed and released December 2003


  


